Tuesday, August 4, 2015

TFD PRESENTS: FIVE CRIME CLASSICS!

NOIR. It's the most distinctive of American film styles, though it was named by the French and owed a lot to ex-pat European directors who had escaped to Hollywood to avoid the Nazi uprising. Five great examples of this shadowy style of filmmaking are now available from thefilmdetective.com. But remember, not all crime films are noir, and not all noir films are about crime. Got it? Good...

DETOUR (1945)

He went searching for love... but
Fate forced a DETOUR to Revelry... Violence... Mystery! This Poverty Row landmark
features Tom Neal as Al, a lowlife nightclub pianist hitchhiking across the
country. Along the way he falls into so many ill-fated circumstances that
he wishes he’d stayed in New York. Despite its downbeat atmosphere, this
dirty crime classic from cult director Edgar G. Ulmer has many admirers.
The late Roger Ebert described Detour as “haunting and creepy, an
embodiment of the guilty soul of film noir. No one who has seen it has easily
forgotten it." Also, look for Ann Savage in a mesmerizing performance as
Vera, the dangerous woman Al meets on his road to ruin!

Several
years after appearing in Detour, Tom Neal was given a 10-year sentence for
killing his wife. He only served six years on an “involuntary manslaughter”
charge, but died of a heart attack shortly after his release….

HE WALKED BY NIGHT (1948)

Savage! ... Searing! ... True!
From the Homicide Files of the Los Angeles Police! This iconic film noir stars
Richard Basehart as a cold-hearted cop killer. With a supporting cast that
includes Whit Bissell, and Roy Roberts, this feature from director
Alfred L. Werker (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Shock) is
generally considered one of the great police dramas of all time. Helped by the
incomparable camera work of cinematographer John Alton, and an uncredited
assist from director Anthony Mann, the film was described in Variety as “a
high-tension crime thriller, supercharged with violence but sprung with
finesse.”

Jack
Webb has a small role in this film, which is fitting since many consider He
Walks By Night as a forerunner of Webb’s TV show, Dragnet…

PORT OF NEW YORK (1949)

A
STORY OF SMUGGLING AND MURDER, FRESH OFF THE NEW YORK STREETS! Movie icon Yul Brynner made his
debut in this tough crime thriller from director Laslo Benedek (The Wild One).
Brynner plays ruthless gangster Paul Vicola, a murderous thug whose gang has
stolen medicinal narcotics from a ship docked in New York harbor. The movie
also stars Scott Brady and Richard Rober as the agents out to stop Vicola, a
dangerous assignment since Vicola is the sort who will have his own
girlfriend killed if he thinks she knows too much!

Part of this movie’s authentic
look comes from its excellentuse of
location shooting.The East River, LaGuardia
Airport, the U.S. Customs House, and New York’s Penn Station were all shot by
ace cinematographer George E. Diskant, the man behind the look of such noir
classics as Beware, My Lovely, The Racket, and On Dangerous Ground…

D.O.A. (1950)

A man learns
he's been poisoned and has only a few days left to live. In the remaining time,
he's hell-bent on catching his own killer. It's Edmund O'Brien racing against
the clock in D.O.A., a picture as
excitingly different as its title!The
film was directed by Rudolph Maté, who was already known as one of the best
cinematographers of the day. As a cinematographer, he’d worked on a number of
classics, including Gilda, and Pride of the Yankees.When Alfred Hitchcock orOrson Welles needed a top cinematographer,
they called on Mate’.Mate’ was nearly
50 when he began directing his own films. DOA
was one of his early efforts. It’s probably his best.

The scene in which Edmund O'Brien
runs through the streets after learning he's been poisoned was a “stolen shot.”
It was done without a city permit, and completely improvised without actors.
The pedestrians had no idea that O'Brien would be shoving his way through them.
It turned out to be a great scene and adds to the movie's sense of urgency. Of
course, this technique can sometimes create problems. In another movie, Who
Killed Teddy Bear, Sal Mineo was running down a New York street in a similar
“stolen shot.” A pedestrian, thinking Mineo was a hoodlum who’d stolen
someone’s purse, tackled him to the ground. So much for guerilla filmmaking…

KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL(1952)

Every city wears a
mask! This is the picture that goes behind that mask to bare the bullet-scarred
face of a brutal underworld!.....Kansas City
Confidential
stars John Payne as an ex-con wrongly accused of robbing an armored car. He
ends up in Mexico, trying to figure out who framed him and why. Along the way
he meets thugs, corrupt cops, and hired killers. It's all presented in the exciting noir style by director
Phil Karlson, a Hollywood journeyman who
directed everything from Elvis Presley movies to the original Walking Tall in 1973. Also, look for a
trio of Hollywood tough guys in supporting roles: Neville Brand, Lee Van Cleef,
and the crazy-eyed Jack Elam.

After serving two years during
World War 2, John Payne returned to Hollywood and found that producers no
longer offered him the top roles. It was decided by the film studios that Payne should darken
his image.That’s when he found himself
cast in war movies, westerns, and crime thrillers like Kansas City
Confidential. He even stopped shaving his chest so he’d appear more
threatening…

***

All of these movies are available through thefilmdetective.com, where vintage films are remastered, restored, and reborn. Follow us @FilmDetective

About Me

I write for various magazines, including the great CINEMA RETRO, and the Film Noir Foundation's official magazine, Noir City. Check them out if you love movies.

I currently serve as the editorial consultant for thefilmdetective.tv, a movie streaming service that does everything from restoring old films to selling a vast collection of DVDs. Download our classic movie app!

Along with movie and arts coverage, I've written about boxing for The Ring, and ESPN.com; I've written true crime stories for the short-lived HUB; and I occasionally publish historical tales in Wild West magazine. I've also written for a bunch of newspapers in the Boston area.

THIS DAZZLING TIME is where you'll find a bit of everything. I appreciate having your attention for a moment or two.